After they’d had a few glasses of champagne in the lounge as the turkey rested, they set about sorting the dinner. Greg carved the turkey, Ed made his usual thick gravy and Maddie finished off cooking the vegetables.
‘Oh Jesus!’ she said suddenly after they’d eaten.
Ed and Greg turned around. ‘What?’
‘I forgot the pudding!’
Greg smiled. ‘No problem.’ He went to one of his bags lying on the kitchen floor and pulled out a box of luxury truffles. ‘Who needs pudding? We can gorge on these!’ He threw them over to Ed who caught them and started to open them up.
After they’d consumed the truffles, they sat, watching the honey-coloured sky above the ocean out on the bay. Everyone was stuffed. They’d talked about Bali, about Ed’s future plans to travel with Adity. They’d talked about how old they’d all been when they realised that Santa wasn’t real anymore. They’d talked about Christmases past, and how to cook a turkey; Greg mentioned that his favourite stuffing had sage and pine nuts in it, like his mum used to do. His eyes clouded over for a moment and Maddie knew that he was flicking open that emotional box that he’d kept firmly shut at university, the one marked ‘car crash’ – where he’d start to tell her about the awful events that led up to his parents’ death on a holiday in Cyprus on a twisty road, but then he’d shut down. She reached over and briefly touched his knee.
‘So, you guys, Exeter! That’s just crazy. Mum never mentioned you!’ Ed turned to grin at Greg whose eyebrows rose as he took a large slurp of wine.
‘Yes,’ said Greg quietly. ‘And you’re going to Exeter, is that right, Ed?’ Greg looked from Ed to Maddie.
‘Yup, that’s the idea.’ Ed nodded enthusiastically. ‘Following in those footsteps, eh, Mum?’ He grinned.
Ed couldn’t hear the strain in Greg’s voice as he talked, but Maddie could.
‘Yeah, I can’t wait. I went to visit the campus before I went travelling. Looks awesome, and I visited the zoology department and spoke to a few lecturers. The course I want to do – Applied Biology – is one of the best,’ he said, smiling at Greg.
Then he turned to Maddie and took another truffle out of the box. ‘Mum, you did Sociology, didn’t you? But you never sat your finals, did you? I suppose I’ve never asked you about it up until now,’ he said sitting up in his chair, ‘but now that I’m thinking of uni, I’m curious; you didn’t tell me why you left, Mum. You said you were ill and everything, but you missed your finals. I mean, wow. What actually happened?’
No, no, no. Greg sat stiffly upright and glanced quickly at her.
Was this really the right time to tell him everything, to unravel nineteen years of half-truths and oblique references? She knew he had a right to know. But they were all getting on so well, the two people she loved most in the world.
Well, if this was the start of a new beginning, then she had a duty. He knew the broad outline, but she’d kept it hazy. She hadn’t wanted him to feel any sort of guilt about what had happened. That had been her fault. But she couldn’t tell him everything yet.
‘It’s a long story, Ed. I, you know, wasn’t well.’
Greg shifted in his seat and started to pick up all the little golden paper truffle cases. He screwed each one up, one by one, and then put the tiny paper balls neatly on his plate.
‘I needed to go home. I freaked out about my finals.’ Two of them in that room knew that was a half-truth.
Taffie was barking noisily by then and Greg pulled back his chair. ‘I think someone wants to go out!’ he said as Taffie came up to him and started licking his hand.
‘I’ll go,’ Ed volunteered, pushing his chair back.
‘No, it’s fine, I’ll take him out. I could do with some fresh air.’ And with that Greg stood up and went to fetch Taffie’s lead.
Maddie poured herself some more wine, aware of the tension building in the air. Greg had been visibly shaken when Ed talked about Exeter. These old ghosts were hard to bury.
Ed put some logs on the fire, then came back to the table swaying a little and steadied himself on the back of a chair. He poured himself a small glass of port, then looked at Maddie as he took a seat.